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What was John Winthrop's views of equality among people? How did the Puritan's idea of a colony based on religion differ from Maryland's after the...

John Winthrop was the first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, serving for twenty years between 1629 and 1649.  He was a pious man with a deep faith in God.  He speaks of unequal relationships in A Model of Christian Charity. Winthrop writes that the unequal distribution of power and wealth is derived from God in a deliberate fashion.  The belief is that God made people different so that they may serve one another and become closer because of mutual dependence.  God expects the poor to be loyal servants to authority and heed to the sovereignty of the wealthy.  The rich and powerful, for their part are not without responsibilities to the poor.  They are expected to treat their subjects in a just and fair manner.  The rich are also expected to have mercy on the poor.  They are called to be charitable.  


In all of these statements from the treatise, it is clear that Winthrop does not think equality is of importance, and in fact is against God's plan.  

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